Israeli president accepts election results, begins talks on new government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results of last week’s parliamentary elections as legally binding on Wednesday, marking a significant step in the country’s political landscape. The move came after Netanyahu and his allies suffered a loss of majority in parliament, known as the Knesset, while Arab-led parties made historic gains. In a statement, Herzog emphasized the need to accept reality: “The elections are over. Now is the time to face reality.”

The elections commission, after a thorough investigation, reported no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or impacted its results. This finding dealt a blow to Netanyahu’s efforts to discredit the vote, which he and his supporters had made without substantial proof. The Shin Bet intelligence service, led by Netanyahu appointee David Zini, was conducting a separate investigation into allegations of foreign interference, but its assessment provided no concrete evidence.

The committee’s head, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, stated that while there were suspicions of foreign funding, it was unlikely to have affected the election outcome.

As the president began consultations with party representatives on Wednesday night, the possibility of an alliance between Netanyahu and his rival, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, or between Eisenkot and Arab-led parties, emerged. Three factions favoring Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist base recommended him to form a coalition government, while a fourth faction led by a former Netanyahu ally suggested Eisenkot.

Eight additional parties, including Arab-led factions, are scheduled to meet Herzog on Thursday. After these consultations, Herzog will select the candidate most likely to form a government, setting the stage for weeks of negotiations. If neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot can form a government, new elections will be held early next year.